How to spend a day in Wurzburg, Germany

Have you heard of Wurzburg before? If not, get it on your bucket list now!

It’s a city in Germany that’s between Munich and Frankfurt. It’s also unbelievably pretty. My sister and I headed there as a day trip recently as I was staying with her in her current hometown of Nuremberg – which you can read about here.

It was my second visit to Wurzburg but the last was three years ago and before my travel blogging days. So this time around, my camera was at the ready and I was taking in all the facts! What did our day look like and what is there to do there?

Morning – arrival

We arrived into the Hauptbahnhof (or central train station in English), which is fairly central to the town. Our train from Nuremberg took 1 hour 10 minutes but you’re also just 1 hour 30 from Frankfurt and 2 hours from Munich. The trains in Germany are clean and convenient – and way cheaper than the UK.

Top tip – if travelling in a group of up to four you can purchase ‘Bayern tickets’ which are group journeys that work out much better value than travelling alone. These are valid on journeys within the same state (i.e. Bavaria) on the day of purchase.

Next – Wurzburg Residence

This stately home has an interesting history. The prince of the time was living in a smaller palace which he decided wasn’t grand enough for the ‘absolute monarch’ that he was. I’d never heard the term ‘absolute monarch’ before – apparently, it means a ruler who has total authority. Basically, he was the big cheese and wanted to let everyone know – a modern-day Kardashian, kinda. He’d just won lots of money in a court case so build this beautiful palace which includes a massive garden – it’s now on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

You can pay to go inside but we had fun wandering the gardens for free and admiring it from the outside.

Lunch – picnic by the bridge

We brought a picnic with us and ate it sitting on the riverbank. This was the view we were looking at – gorgeous, hey?

I could have chilled by the river all day but we were building up our energy for our next activity…

Where to get your picnic?

We found the adorable Baeckerei Hanselmann close to the Wurzburg Residence. I was initially attracted to it because it was three stories of yellow with beautiful flower baskets but it’s also a bakery selling pastries, baked goods, pretzels, noodle salads, and fruit.

Afternoon – climb the Marienberg Fortress

I was daunted by the look of this beautiful castle perched on top of the hill but climbing it wasn’t as difficult as anticipated.

The tricky was actually finding the right route up to the castle. My best advice:

Cross the bridge towards the castle

Veer to your right as you leave the bridge and see the MA Doner kebab shop

Walk up the little street to the left linked here and called Tellsteige

Climb the steps, walk through a slanting green park and follow the route up!

There are different viewing points as you go up. These were from the first one:

Time at the top

The final and most majestic view of Wurzburg is from the Fortress. We sat at the cafe at the top and drank beer – but there are also lots of other things you can do including visiting the museum of the old living quarters and taking guided tours (from €3.50; available from April to October).

Back at the bottom – Hugos on the bridge

The bridge is such a fun place to hang out on a sunny day! People are standing around chatting, there’s usually some form of live music playing and the bars are serving drinks outdoors. My new favourite tipple after my long weekend in Germany is a Hugo – it’s Prosecco with elderflower and mint. So refreshing and yummy.

Late afternoon – back to the station via the must-see buildings

There are some really amazing buildings in town. Head to the Marktplatz (central market square) to see the yellow Falkenhaus building and the red and white St Mary’s Chapel covered in gold carvings.

Where to stay

We caught a train back to Nuremberg in time for dinner but if you’re staying over, check out Babelfish which has dorm rooms for €20.

Day trip or weekend visit, you’ll love Wurzburg. Let me know if you need any more advice!